Bunun Tribal Leisure Farm

Bunun Tribal Leisure Farm

Taoyuan Village, in Yanping Township, Taitung County, is a quaint village found at the foot of the Central Mountain Range. This is the home of the Bunun tribe. Traditionally, the Bunun subsisted on hunting and basic farming. However, in times past, through the process of societal modernization, they fell victim to inappropriate policies, and were subsequently deprived of education, as well as opportunities for economic and cultural enhancement. Consequently, they are on the periphery of a society that is mostly comprised of Han Chinese.

In 1984, Bai Guang-sheng returned to Taoyuan Village to take the position of pastor. He realized that the only hope for the future would be through the provision a good education for the next generation of Bunun. Using his church as the base, he appealed for university students to come and teach the village children. Eleven years later, he set up the “Bunun Cultural and Educational Foundation”, and started preparations for the building of a “Bunun Settlement” on the desolate banks of the Luming River, north of Taoyuan Village. This was done in the hope that through the managing of cultural industries, a tourist leisure industry would be developed with a Bunun Aboriginal flavor. This would provide Pastor Bai’s fellow Bunun with a cultural dignity and allow them to become self-sufficient.

For more than ten years, this remote, rocky area has been fully equipped, Its facilities include a village theater, a weaving studio, a modern-day aboriginal art center, a coffee shop, hostels, restaurants, pastureland, and a riverbank park. The work force has increased from just one worker to 90 full-time employees, 40 part-time employees, and countless sponsors. Under the leadership of Pastor Bai, the Bunun Cultural and Educational Foundation has gradually achieved its mission of promoting Aboriginal education, industry development, social welfare and artistic culture. The hard work involved and ensuing success is very inspiring! Pastor Bai’s plan for the next ten years is a “Bunun Century Dream”, involving the building of a Bunun pasture, an agricultural specialty factory, an Aborigine alcoholism treatment center, a senior citizens’ village, a halfway house for school dropouts and a home for the mentally disabled. Through these plans, he hopes to create more subsistence opportunities for the Bunun in their own community, and rebuild their Aboriginal culture